Thread: Rear Door Speaker

Thanks Banarcus for your reply. If you don't mind me asking, what unit did you end up going with to replace the factory head unit - mine is short of naffed (well the cd component anyway - rachmaninoff is still stuck in there pedro btw ).. and I think if I buy a new head unit and a speaker or two for the boot door I may get free installation from the likes of JB - otherwise I may consider something from chinavasion and get a relative (who is an audiophile) to install it all ... upgrading everything is a little overkill for me, although I do like the cd stacker train of thought - I don't have the music on when I am travelling on my own tho (grocery run - yay!!) - the peace and quiet without 4 little ones is sublime sometimes LOL!!!

Another question, do I need to have an amp for the boot door speakers as it seems the case with the ES and above models?

Cheers,
Lp

Originally Posted by banarcus

The HK system was built to a price and the speakers are not your usual HK quality. I'll admit that the Australian sun was not kind to mine and the paper goes brittle with age and heat. My speakers were buzzing and rather than replacing them with new old stock, I replaced them with up to date known aftermarket speakers, 6.5" 2 way splits up frontand the rear doors with 3 way 6.5s. The old HK subs were replaced with a 6.5" sub in a custom box.

I replaced the head unit with a good MP3/Bluetooth/USB/CD player one and the stock HK amp got the flick too because it is poo by todays standards. The factory CD stacker was also thrown out because it isn't relevant anymore. I'm not an audiophile like some, I just wanted crystal clear treble mixed with clean distortion free bass. The stock system just couldn't do it for me.

What I have is complete control of my upgraded system with either the remote or with the factory steering wheel controls.

I'll do a tech article on what I did with mine.

[/IMG]

Originally Posted by banarcus

The HK system was built to a price and the speakers are not your usual HK quality. I'll admit that the Australian sun was not kind to mine and the paper goes brittle with age and heat. My speakers were buzzing and rather than replacing them with new old stock, I replaced them with up to date known aftermarket speakers, 6.5" 2 way splits up frontand the rear doors with 3 way 6.5s. The old HK subs were replaced with a 6.5" sub in a custom box.

I replaced the head unit with a good MP3/Bluetooth/USB/CD player one and the stock HK amp got the flick too because it is poo by todays standards. The factory CD stacker was also thrown out because it isn't relevant anymore. I'm not an audiophile like some, I just wanted crystal clear treble mixed with clean distortion free bass. The stock system just couldn't do it for me.

What I have is complete control of my upgraded system with either the remote or with the factory steering wheel controls.

I'll do a tech article on what I did with mine.

[/IMG]

Looks good, is that the Kicker CVT 654? Its the only 6in sub woofer listed apart from JBL (mega bucks)
If so would that kicker x 2 fit the factory enclosure?
Thanks

Originally Posted by landyprincess

Thanks Banarcus for your reply. If you don't mind me asking, what unit did you end up going with to replace the factory head unit - mine is short of naffed (well the cd component anyway - rachmaninoff is still stuck in there pedro btw ).. and I think if I buy a new head unit and a speaker or two for the boot door I may get free installation from the likes of JB - otherwise I may consider something from chinavasion and get a relative (who is an audiophile) to install it all ... upgrading everything is a little overkill for me, although I do like the cd stacker train of thought - I don't have the music on when I am travelling on my own tho (grocery run - yay!!) - the peace and quiet without 4 little ones is sublime sometimes LOL!!!

Another question, do I need to have an amp for the boot door speakers as it seems the case with the ES and above models?

Cheers,
Lp

I ended up buying this: ($360) Kenwood KDC-X8016BT Car CD Tuner - KDCX8016BT

It has bluetooth, both for streaming from your phone and for making/ receiving calls and text messages. Also has USB for a flash drive and a CD player which is also MP3 compatible.

I bought this gadget: ($99) Stinger SWI-JACK Steering Wheel Control module - SWIJACK

It goes between the above headunit and the factory steering wheel audio controls. Lets me adjust volume and flick through albums and songs on the fly like the factory HK setup.

I bought this amp to replace the baby obsolete HK one: ($180) Kenwood KAC-M846 4 Channel Amplifier - KACM846

I fitted it under the passenger seat where the HK amp use to hide. I then ran the pre-amp wires from the it to the headunit.

The front speakers: ($285) Kenwood KFC-X1730P 6.5inch Component Speakers - KFCX1730P replaced the old HK conponents up front. I also replaced the tweeters while I was at it and mounted the crossover boxes on the kickboards. Discos are pretty tight for space. These fitted in the front doors easily but the A pillar trims needed some cutting here and there for them to fit. Sound quality is pretty good. These get their power from the amp.

There rear door speakers are nothing fancy: ($105) Kenwood KFC-S1693 6inch Speakers - KFCS1693 but still leave the HK ones for dead. These just run off the headunit's power. Fitted in the rear doors easily.

Finally I bought a baby subwoofer to replace the HK pair that sit on the tailgate: ($132) Kicker CVT654 6inch Subwoofer - CVT654

This again leaves the old twin subs for dead. I had to fabricate a whole new box to get the most out of it. If I tried to use the old plastic box, it simply wouldn't do the the Kicker justice. I'm not a doof doof fan or an audiophile but wanted good clean sound. The box is sealed MDF and covered in black marine carpet. It doesn't resonate unless I listen to AM talkback. The subwoofer is powered by the amp.

The headunit replaced a carputer setup that I bought from from the states. When I bought my HTC android smartphone, I found that I could do everything on it in the car that the carputer could. So I sold the carputer and with the cash bought all the above goodies.

You wouldn't need to run an amp if you were to just replace the rear subs with say 2x 6" 2 ways but if you were just after a better replacement for what you already have, perhaps just replace all of your door speakers with 6.5" 3 ways and replace your headunit. Wire up all of you speakers so that they run off your stereo.